Jeremiah 13
13
Jeremiah's Linen Shorts
1The Lord told me, “Go and buy a pair of linen shorts. Wear them for a while, but don't wash them.” 2So I bought a pair of shorts and put them on.
3Then the Lord said, 4“Take off the shorts. Go to Parah#13.4 Parah: Or “the Euphrates River.” Parah was a village about nine kilometers northeast of Jerusalem. and hide the shorts in a crack between some large rocks.” 5And that's what I did.
6Some time later the Lord said, “Go back and get the shorts.” 7I went back and dug the shorts out of their hiding place, but the cloth had rotted, and the shorts were ruined.
8Then the Lord said:
9Jeremiah, I will use Babylonia to#13.9 I will use Babylonia to: Or “that's how I'm going to.” destroy the pride of the people of Judah and Jerusalem. 10The people of Judah are evil and stubborn. So instead of listening to me, they do whatever they want and even worship other gods. When I am finished with these people, they will be good for nothing, just like this pair of shorts. 11These shorts were tight around your waist, and that's how tightly I held onto the kingdoms of Israel and Judah. I wanted them to be my people. I wanted to make them famous, so that other nations would praise and honor me, but they refused to obey me.
Wine Jars
The Lord said:
12Jeremiah, tell the people of Judah, “The Lord God of Israel orders you to fill your wine jars with wine.”
They will answer, “Of course we fill our wine jars with wine! Why are you telling us something we already know?”
13Then say to them:
I am the Lord, and what I'm going to do will make everyone in Judah and Jerusalem appear to be full of wine. And the worst ones will be the kings of David's family and the priests and the prophets. 14Then I will smash them against each other like jars. I will have no pity on the young or the old, and they will all be destroyed. I, the Lord, have spoken.
The People of Judah Will Be Taken Away
15People of Judah,
don't be too proud to listen
to what the Lord has said.
16You hope for light,
but God is sending darkness.
Evening shadows already deepen
in the hills.
So return to God
and confess your sins to him
before you trip and fall.
17If you are too proud to listen,
I will weep alone.
Tears will stream from my eyes
when the Lord's people
are taken away as prisoners.
18The Lord told me to tell you
that your king and his mother#13.18 mother: The king's mother usually had an important position in the royal court.
must surrender their thrones
and remove their crowns.#13.18 and remove their crowns: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
19The cities in the Southern Desert
are surrounded;
no one can get in or out.
Everyone in Judah
will be taken away.
20Jerusalem, you were so proud
of ruling the people of Judah.
But where are they now?
Look north, and you will see
your enemies approaching.
21You once trusted them to help,
but now I'll let them rule you.#13.21 You once … rule you: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
What do you say about that?
You will be in pain
like a woman giving birth.
22Do you know why
your clothes were torn off
and you were abused?
It was because
of your terrible sins.
23Can you ever change
and do what's right?
Can people change the color
of their skin,
or can a leopard
remove its spots?
If so, then maybe you can change
and learn to do right.
24I will scatter you,
just as the desert wind
blows husks from grain
tossed in the air.
25I won't change my mind.
I, the Lord, have spoken.
You rejected me
and worshiped false gods.
* 26You were married to me,
but you were unfaithful.
You even became a prostitute#13.26 prostitute: See the note at 2.20.
by worshiping disgusting gods
on hilltops and in fields.
27So I'll rip off your clothes
and leave you naked and ashamed
for everyone to see.
You are doomed!
Will you ever be worthy
to worship me again?
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Contemporary English Version, Second Edition (CEV®)
© 2006 American Bible Society. All rights reserved.
Jeremiah 13
13
Linen Underwear
1This is what the Lord said to me: “Go and buy yourself a linen undergarment#Ex 39:27–29; Lv 16:4; Ezk 44:17–18 and put it on.#13:1 Lit around your waist But do not put it in water.” 2So I bought underwear as the Lord instructed me and put it on.
3Then the word of the Lord came to me a second time: 4“Take the underwear that you bought and are wearing,#13:4 Lit wearing around your waist and go at once to the Euphrates#13:4–7 Perhaps a place near Anathoth with the same spelling as the river and hide it in a rocky crevice.”#Jr 51:63 5So I went and hid it by the Euphrates, as the Lord commanded me.
6A long time later the Lord said to me, “Go at once to the Euphrates and get the underwear that I commanded you to hide there.” 7So I went to the Euphrates and dug up the underwear and got it from the place where I had hidden it, but it was ruined — of no use at all.
8Then the word of the Lord came to me: 9“This is what the Lord says: Just like this I will ruin the great pride of both Judah and Jerusalem.#Lv 26:19 10These evil people, who refuse to listen to me, who follow the stubbornness of their own hearts,#Jr 16:12 and who have followed other gods to serve and bow in worship — they will be like this underwear, of no use at all. 11Just as underwear clings to one’s waist, so I fastened the whole house of Israel and of Judah to me”#Dt 4:3–4; 10:20 — this is the Lord’s declaration — “so that they might be my people for my fame, praise, and glory,#Dt 26:19; Ezk 16:8–14 but they would not obey.
The Wine Jars
12“Say this to them: ‘This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: Every jar should be filled with wine.’ Then they will respond to you, ‘Don’t we know that every jar should be filled with wine?’ 13And you will say to them, ‘This is what the Lord says: I am about to fill all who live in this land — the kings who reign for David on his throne, the priests, the prophets, and all the residents of Jerusalem — with drunkenness. 14I will smash them against each other, fathers and sons alike — this is the Lord’s declaration. I will allow no mercy, pity, or compassion to keep me from destroying them.’”#Lm 2:2,17,21; 3:43
The Lord’s Warning
15Listen and pay attention. Do not be proud,
for the Lord has spoken.
16Give glory to the Lord your God#Jos 7:19; 1Sm 6:5; Ps 29:1–2
before he brings darkness,
before your feet stumble
on the mountains at dusk.
You wait for light,
but he brings darkest gloom#13:16 Or brings a shadow of death
and makes total darkness.
17But if you will not listen,
my innermost being will weep in secret
because of your pride.
My eyes will overflow with tears,
for the Lord’s flock#Ps 80:1; 95:7; Jr 23:1–4 has been taken captive.
18Say to the king and the queen mother:#2Kg 24:12; Jr 22:26
Take a humble seat,
for your glorious crowns
have fallen from your heads.
19The cities of the Negev are under siege;
no one can help them.
All of Judah has been taken into exile,
taken completely into exile.
20Look up and see
those coming from the north.#Jr 1:13–15; 4:6; 10:22
Where is the flock entrusted to you,
the sheep that were your pride?
The Destiny of Jerusalem
21What will you say when he appoints
close friends as leaders over you,
ones you yourself trained?
Won’t labor pains seize you,#Ps 48:6; Is 13:8; 21:3; 42:14; Jr 4:31; 6:24; 22:23; 30:6; 50:43; Mc 4:9–10; 1Th 5:3
as they do a woman in labor?
22And when you ask yourself,
“Why have these things happened to me?”
it is because of your great guilt#Jr 5:6; 30:15
that your skirts have been stripped off,#Ezk 16:37–39; Hs 2:3,10; Nah 3:5
your body exposed.#13:22 Lit your heels have suffered violence
23Can the Cushite change his skin,
or a leopard his spots?
If so, you might be able to do what is good,#Ec 5:1; Jr 4:22; Hs 5:4
you who are instructed in evil.
24I will scatter you#13:24 Lit them like drifting chaff#Jb 13:25; Ps 83:13; Is 40:24
before the desert wind.
25This is your lot,
what I have decreed for you —
this is the Lord’s declaration —
because you have forgotten me#Ps 106:21; Jr 2:32; 18:15; Ezk 22:12; 23:35; Hs 8:14
and trusted in lies.#Jr 3:23
26I will pull your skirts up over your face
so that your shame might be seen.#Is 47:2–3; Jr 49:10; Nah 3:5
27Your adulteries and your lustful neighing,#Jr 2:23–24; 5:8
your depraved prostitution
on the hills, in the fields —
I have seen your abhorrent acts.
Woe to you, Jerusalem!
You are unclean —
for how long yet?#Hs 8:5
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